Mary did you know
That your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary did you know
That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered
Will soon deliver you

Mary did you know
That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know
That your baby boy will calm the storm with his hand?
Did you know
That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby
You’ve kissed the face of God

Mary did you know?
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
The dead will live again
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of the Lamb

Mary did you know
That your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know
That your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding
Is the Great I Am.

The venue was pretty, but a little packed. As in sardine like. As in the middle aged, portly lady next to Macdougal was sitting on him for several minutes before she noticed his squirming and stood up saying “I am soo sorry. Was I sitting on you?”

I have never been to a concert where the crowd sang all the songs louder than the performers. It was fun and annoying at the same time. The annoying part was the fact that the young girls behind me had awful voices and when they didn’t know the words they had loud conversations about cell phones, boyfriends, etc. This same young lady kept dancing wildly and smacking Mr. Vixen in the head while repeating her chant of “Oops, I’m sorry.”

After a strong opening with Rock N’ Me, Take The Money and Swingtown, they departed from their music and covered a bunch of other peoples music. The did a very nice cover of Crossroads and then a bunch of stuff that sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

We used this time to go into the casino and get drinks because the two bars outside were packed.

They continued in mostly this vain of other musician’s music, with a smattering of their stuff mixed in: Serenade, Jungle Love and Dance, Dance, Dance.

He then told a story about an old sitar/guitar he bought in 1965 (which made me feel ancient) but segued into a lovely rendition of Wild Mountain Honey. Not one of their most famous songs, but my personal favorite. Back in the olden days, before internet, we had CB Handles (the equivalent of super-secret internet identities) and my first handle was Wild Mountain Honey.

Some more other peoples’ music and a fun rendition of The Joker. Except whenever he got to the line “midnight toker” he shook his hand in a vehement negative motion.

Then they launched into their signature tune, Fly Like An Eagle. Now maybe the dude is really sick of that song, but I have never seen a performer with less enthusiasm. It really seemed like he didn’t want to do that song. Then, to make matters worse, in the middle they decided to make it an extended version. Complete with the piano player RAPPING (?!) something about a green earth and saving the planet. I can’t be really sure what he was saying because everyone around me was laughing so hard. The extended version also included some kind of long solo thing, in which it seemed the geriatric dudes fell asleep and were playing elevator music. Now, my son Macdougal, says he can never hear this song again with laughing.

I honestly can’t remember what song they played last, I can’t even recall if it was one of theirs. The kids got up and bolted for the door, they had enough. I thought they might do an encore so I hung back and visited the bathroom. Sure enough they agreed to play another song. Steve asked for suggestions and the entire crowd bellowed Jet Airliner. He said “Jet Airliner?” and promptly countered with some country/cowboy song called I Just Left Texas. So we just left.

It was fun. We had a lot to laugh at…crowd included. And Macdougal kept up his new tradition of getting clocked in the head by a middle aged lady clapping too hard (just like when he attended the Eagles concert with me. At least it wasn’t me this time). He says he feels safer at a NiN concert. To which Mr. Vixen replied, “hey at least we don’t have mash potting at our concerts.” Which was an hysterical high point of the evening.

I think I would have really enjoyed the concert for say….$35 a ticket. But for $65 per ticket, I feel a little ripped off.

So who has used the word stoked in the last 20 years? Well, I do and I am. I never stopped saying it, I am old school like that. I bought tickets to a concert.

Concerts were a huge part of mine and Mr. Vixen’s lives through our teenage years. We came of age during the Day on the Green era. Never heard of it? It was a concert held on the football field at the Oakland Raiders home field, back when they were in Oakland. (You know, pre-Traitor era.) Each Saturday concert had five, yes I said five, bands at each concert for a ticket price of $15. For example, the last one we attended was XXXXX (can’t remember pre-opening band that made no impression on me…maybe it was Rush?), Pat Travers (Go For What You Know, yesssss), Santana, Black Sabbath, and Blue Oyster Cult. We have seen all the hard ones and the soft ones. Ted Nugent, Foreigner, Cheap Trick, AC/DC, Eddie Money, Rick Deringer, The Outlaws, The Doobie Brothers, Van Halen, Eddie Money, Aerosmith, Queen and on and on.

We took my little brother to his first concert (AC/DC Back In Black, awesome). We took my little sister to her first concert (let us not go there). So stop, don’t twist my arm like that, alright….it was Rick Springfield. Hell, he was on General Hospital at the time and he was HOT. And my Mom would not let me take her to anything else. A few years later tho, it was Guns ‘n Roses with her and her BFF – still not hard core, but harder than Dr. Drake. Jeez, how does 25 years just go ***poof***?

As we got older and had kids, concerts got very scarce. They were expensive. We had to pick and choose, or get the tickets as gifts. I saw Neil Diamond with my mom, we both saw John Denver (rest in peace) because my sister bought us me tickets for my birthday. We tried and tried to get to an Eagles tickets. The Hell Freezes Over tour had me trying to sell a small child so I wouldn’t miss them again. But I lived in Utah where there are way, way, way too many kids already and no one bought.

Finally, two years ago, the Eagles got back together. And I got tickets. It was hard. Still no money. And add to the mix that we somehow raised a son who was an abomination amongst his peers. He is a natural and gifted talent at the guitar. He not only taught himself to play, but he is good and writes his own music. When he and I skipped school/work to see Once Upon A Time In Mexico, we were home about an hour before he came down with his classico guitar (one of three he owned at the time) and played the awesome song from the movie. He had just “learned” it by listening. Oh, and did I mention he is really gifted? He was asked to be in bands when he was only 12-13 years old. Yet, the boy is an introvert. And the live music scene was not for him. But that does not take away his musical prowess. Although neither Mr. Vixen nor I have a lick of musical talent between us, he is so talented. Yet, still, he blames us for making him a freak. He knows all the old bands inside and out. In fact, I think he knows them better than us. His friends are confused when he whips out Pink Floyd and Boston. When he knows the words to every Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, and Moody Blues song ever. But he is also thankful, because, man, he loves him some “classical rock”, as he calls it.

So, to the stoked part….I scored us (as in me, Mr. Vixen, MacDougal and his fiance (thus my point about killing myself financially by raising a kid like him) TICKETS TO STEVE MILLER BAND. Yes, I know I could have bought tickets for myself and Mr. V, but I would never have been forgiven. Let us just go back two years…..to when I actually scored tickets to the GREATEST, GREATEST BAND EVER, The Eagles. Yes I finally got tickets. I had to sit and hit refresh 87 trillion times between 9:59 and 10:00 am so it would not sell out. And it was close. And you have two minutes once you grab your seats to purchase them before they go back on the market. And yes, I stopped in the middle of my purchase and called the boy and said….”Would it be ok, since I can’t really afford it otherwise, if I went and saw the GREATEST BAND EVER with your Dad and not take you?” To which he replied….”I will commit suicide if you go without me.” And so I bought three tickets.

So when our second fave band (not favorite like most talented, but more like they ARE the soundtrack to our life because their music was always playing while we were camping) came to town, I bought four tickets. And it set me back a very, very pretty penny. But it is worth it. The question is……how do I concentrate on life between now and October 5th?

I was raised on an eclectic mix of music. My parents were goody-goody 50s kids in a ‘hippie’ age, but were susceptible to the lure of ‘rock and roll’. I grew up to The Carpenters, Elton John, The Moody Blues, Carole King, and Elvis. My grandparents always had music on so I also was influenced by Herb Albert and The Tijuana Brass, Frank Sinatra and big band. When I was 11 years old my parents divorced and I got a step-dad. Thus began my Country Music Years. Which coincided with my teenage years = peer pressure = rock and disco (yes I was a skater…man could I skate to Foxy [and that is skate with four wheels]). So it is not odd that I have a great love of all music (except Rap and Opera, neither of which I can stand for more than a few seconds). Mr. Vixen was a strict hard rocker when we met. I met him most the way and many a teenage day was spent with Van Halen, Blue Oyster Cult, Pat Travers, The Outlaws, Lynard Skynard and Black Sabbath. He met me part way and learned about Ohio Players, Supertramp, and Earth Wind & Fire. We were never without music. Never. There was a great laugh at my wedding when our neighbors informed Mr. Vixen that they always knew when he was coming to pick me up because they could hear his car stereo six blocks away.

Now I have a lot of favorite driving songs. A L O T. But seriously, nothing in the world compares to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. I must turn it on as loud as possible and I must sing along as loud as possible. I am simply compelled. It happened just the other day and probably looked strange: 44yo chick, alone, driving a minivan, with Queen blasting. All the windows down and singing off key as loudly as possible. That is why that scene from Wayne’s World cracked me up when I saw the movie, because that was me, Mr. Vixen and Mr. Vixen’s twin brother (sans the maryjane for me, I am taking the Fifth regarding the twins and maryjane).

So tell me, what is your favorite turn up the volume, blast it out, sing/scream along song for driving?

Sometimes (ok quite often for me) a song captures how I feel or live my life and I just gotta belt it out:
You can spend your whole life building
Something from nothin’
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway

You can chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might never come your way
Dream it anyway

God is great
But sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray
It doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

This world’s gone crazy
It’s hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway

You can love someone with all your heart
For all the right reasons
In a moment they can choose to walk away
Love ’em anyway

God is great
But sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray
It doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
Yea – I do it anyway

You can pour your soul out singing
A song you believe in
That tomorrow they’ll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway
Yea – sing it anyway

I have got this song blasting playing at work, I am trying not to sing along outloud to protect the innocent ears of my coworkers.

“Tunnel”
I won’t pretend to know what you’re thinking
I can’t begin to know what you’re going through
I won’t deny the pain that you’re feeling
But I’m gonna try and give a little hope to youJust remember what I’ve told you
There’s so much you’re living for

There’s a light at the end of this tunnel
There’s a light at the end of this tunnel
For you, for you
There’s a light at the end of this tunnel
Shinin’ bright at the end of this tunnel
For you, for you
So keep holdin’ on

You’ve got your disappointments and sorrows
You ought to share the weight of that load with me
Then you will find that the light of tomorrow
Brings a new life for your eyes to see

So remember what I’ve told you
There’s so much you’re living for — Third Day

Got to tell you folks, I feel like today is a much better day. Birds are singing, the sun is shining, God is good, and…..